What is a privateer? In cycling, it refers to a pro rider who operates independently, managing their own logistics, without the help of a professional team. We think that in running it is akin to the athlete just on the verge of that next level. The athlete that puts in the 100-mile weeks, the 20-mile long runs, the high-volume threshold sessions...and then goes to work. The athlete that buys their own gear, their own shoes, their own hotel room...and then goes out and crushes it. We think it’s a badge of honor and we think it refers to many of you who are racing at The Marathon Project.

A month before The Marathon Project, HOKA put out the call for TMP Pro Race athletes to join the Privateer Project. Accepted athletes would receive HOKA gear, a pair of unreleased “super shoes” (same ones that hit the podium at the Chicago Marathon), a $1500 travel stipend, and a comprehensive set of TMP race day performance bonuses: $500 for a PB, $1,000 for an OTQ, $2,000 for a top-10 finish, and $5,000 for a top-3 finish.

To be eligible for the program, TMP Pro Race athletes had to be currently un-sponsored by a HOKA competitor, able and willing to wear HOKA gear and shoes on race day, and willing to tell their story!

INTRODUCING THE 2025 HOKA PRIVATEERS:

Andrew Alexander - Andrew and his family suffered through a difficult and tragic time when he was 14 and his father was diagnosed with brain cancer. The next two years were unthinkably challenging with Andrew’s mother tending to his dad 24/7 until his eventual passing. Andrew suffered from depression after his death, turning to running as the, “only hour or two throughout the day where I was able to feel like myself.” Despite the tragedy, Andrew dedicated himself to running, eventually earning a scholarship to the University of Notre Dame. His post-collegiate career includes winning the 2024 Canadian Track championships at 10,000 meters and has finishing on the podium at the Canadian Road 10k champs (2024), and Marathon Championships (2024 and 2025).

FUN FACT: Andrew out-kicked 2:06 marathoner Rory Linkletter to win the 2024 Canadian national championship at 10,000 meters. Rory will be pacing the lead group at TMP.

Jane Bareikis - Bareikis is a naturalized citizen who has been steadily improving at the marathon distance. After a 2:42:38 debut in 2018, she chopped off nearly ten minutes in just three years with a 2:33:54 at the Grandma’s Marathon in 2021. Her 2:29:00 at the BMW Berlin Marathon in 2023 remains her personal best but she is coming off a victory at the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon earlier this fall in hot and humid conditions.

FUN FACT: Jane splits time between Chicago and Kenya and will be coming all the way from Kenya three days before the race to run The Marathon Project.

Flannery Davis - Flannery lives and trains in Boulder, Colorado, balancing 80-mile weeks with two jobs: a private practice specializing in athlete mental health, and her full-time role in primary care supporting patients navigating trauma, systemic barriers, and chronic illness. She qualified for the 2024 Olympic Trials in her first ever marathon. Her personal motto is “You can be anything and everything you want to be.”

FUN FACT: Flannery was a Division I soccer player and didn’t start running until her mid-to-late twenties.

Blanka Dörfel - Dörfel, at just 23 years of age, is an up-and-coming star in Germany. She’s shown tremendous promise on the roads this year with a 31:52 for 10 kilometers and a 1:09:46 in the half marathon. She has been putting in a huge block of training in Boulder, Colo. in advance of TMP.

FUN FACT: Blanka will be at the pro athlete press conference on Friday, December 19 at the TMP Expo. It will be her first press conference in English!

Jessica Donohue - Jessica struggled with RED-S for nearly a decade and as a result was diagnosed with osteopenia at the age of 19. After taking some time away from running, she discovered CrossFit (and did well in that sport!). She eventually returned to running and now feels fitter than ever. She is motivated by being able to chase a dream she once thought was gone. She feels like she has been given a second chance and is, “just so grateful to be able to run and compete again.”

FUN FACT: Jessica won her first ever marathon, the McKirdy Micro Marathon, last year in 2:40:54 even though her goal was just to try and break 2:50:00.

Molly Grabill - The University of Oregon grad was a six-time NCAA All American for the Ducks and is currently enjoying a career resurgence after running a personal best of 2:29:45 at the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in 2023 and then slashing another three minutes off of that in 2024 with a 2:26:46 in Valencia. She was third at the Indianapolis Monumental Half Marathon in the build-up to TMP.

FUN FACT: Thirteen is not an unlucky number for Molly. She was 13th at the World Half Marathon Championships in 2023 and at the Olympic Trials Marathon in 2024.

Maria Lindberg - A proud, 42-year-old, married, mother of three, Maria lives the daily grind that defines a classic Privateer. Over the last few years she has found a renewed love for racing—setting new personal records and running faster times than she did 25 years ago. She has won several big races including the Bayshore Marathon, Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona Marathon, Grand Rapids Marathon, and Wilmington Marathon. She’s also a member of the Boston College Athletic Hall of Fame.

FUN FACT: Maria went to famous York High School in Illinois and was 13th at the 2000 Foot Locker Cross Country Championships. She was also the 2002 USATF Junior Cross Country Champ—beating, among others, TMP course record holder Sara Hall.

Hosava Kretzmann - From the Navajo and Hopi tribes, Hosava’s running stems from the historical roots of his tribe - Hopi men run for rain to bring life to our crops. Traditionally, Hopi are dry farmers and rely on rain to support our crops (mostly corn and other vegetables). This is not an easy task in an arid desert where temperatures can be up to 100 degrees in the summer and below 30 in the winter. This life, even today, is marked by perseverance.

From Hosava: “Running brings health and prosperity to my tribe. When Hopi's run, we run for more than just ourselves - we run for our village. I am from Hotevilla and there are 12 villages across the Hopi Nation). We run for our clans, I am a descendent of the Arrow and Spider clan. In Hopi, we are named after our paternal clan - since mine is Arrow clan, my name 'Hosava' means "Length of an Arrow". We also run for those that are not here, those that have passed on or have health problems that prevent them from running. I run for the land, my village, my clan families, and direct family.”

FUN FACT: In addition to training to qualify for the Olympic Trials, Hosava has a masters degree, and is working toward a PhD.

Amanda Martin - Amanda lives in Salt Lake City, Utah and calls running a form of worship for herself. She runs to glorify God with every step, every effort, and every accomplishment. She also runs for her late father—the person who first introduced her to the sport. Carrying his memory fuels Amanda on the days that feel toughest.

FUN FACT: Like so many athletes competing at TMP, Amanda works a full-time job and looks forward to her runs after long days and calls movement, “a gift.”

Alex Norstrom - Alex, stared out as a self-described “slow freshman” in High School who took a pair of shoes from the lost and found to use the first day of practice. Living a classic Privateer life, he routinely gets out of bed at 4:00am to train in his hometown of Glastonbury, Connecticut.

FUN FACT: Alex is the four-time winner of the Eversource Hartford Marathon.

Andrew Oslin - Andrew ran at the Division II level for Western Washington University where he ran the school’s second-fastest 10,000 meter ever (29:32). He was also a conference champ and a national qualifier. His PB is 2:16:15, suggesting that hitting the Olympic Trials qualifier at TMP should be a real possibility. In fact, he calls the OTQ his “C” goal for TMP.

FUN FACT: Andrew won the 2025 Hamster Endurance Run, completing 80.8 miles in 12 hours.

Nadeel Wildschutt - After an outstanding career at Coastal Carolina University where he was a Sun Belt Conference Champion and an NCAA All American, Wildschutt took some time away from high level running before returning in 2024. Over the past two years he’s set personal bests at 3,000 meters on the track and 10,000 meters on the road as he prepares for his debut marathon. In the build-up to TMP he’s been living and training in Flagstaff, Arizona.

FUN FACT: Nadeel’s brother, Adrian, was 10th at the 2024 Olympic Games in the 10,000 meters and is the South African record holder at 3,000m, 5,000m and 10,000m on the track and 10k and the Half Marathon on the road. And Nadeel used to beat him!